


Embrace the Change

by bewithmereylo



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Smut, Ok I'll shut up, Reylo - Freeform, Slow Burn, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, also idk how living in nyc goes, also this is gonna be so fluffy and smutty you won't be able to DEAL, also working for the nyt? don't know her, because that's definitely not what's gonna happen in this, i am living for small cramped apartment au's, i certainly don't, i literally came up with this au because i've exhausted so many modern au's and i need MORE, i'm so whipped for reylo, slow burn? slow burn, so deal with it, so there's that, why? who knows, you ever invite your landlord over to fix something and end up having sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 09:01:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22392760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bewithmereylo/pseuds/bewithmereylo
Summary: Rey Cissa, a recent graduate student of NYU who's just trying to survive and land a job, has a crippling fear of spiders.  When she finds one in her apartment on move-in day, she calls her landlord to the rescue, who also happens to be a fellow NYU graduate, Ben Solo.  She's small and awkward, he's hot and takes up too much space.  That's it, that's the fic.I've been obsessively reading modern AU Reylo since TROS and I finally bit the bullet and wrote my own because I'm inconsolable.You can find me on Tumblr @bewithmereylo and Twitter @_supernovaasTitle is inspired by New Politic's song "Color Green"
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 11
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

Spiders. Of course it had to be spiders.

Rey had one box unpacked before she learned why a high-rise apartment in the middle of Manhattan was so cheap; a serious arachnid issue could certainly devalue a property.

She lost her grip on the box of shoes she was carrying and backed away slowly from the spider nest residing where she planned to put her sad excuse for a bookcase. Struggling to remember her landlords phone number, Rey had wedged herself between two IKEA boxes with her futon and coffee table. She sank to the floor and sent her landlord a message. They hadn’t met in person yet, but he made the apartment seem like a five star hotel, so finding this spiders nest was shocking, to say the least. All she possessed of his information was a phone number, the email, and a name: Ben.

_R: hey, this is rey, in 2187. u have a serious spider problem_

She wondered if she should call him instead, given she had no clue how old he was, when the three dots popped up on the other side of her screen.

_B: Interesting._

Interesting? That’s all he had to say? The three dots disappeared; he apparently had nothing else to say.

_R: is there somethin you can do abt it?_

Rey stared at the corner of the living room, panic rising in her stomach and threatening to make her abandon this new job and the city and go back to living in her one-story house with four other girls she never got along with. All of that sounded a thousand times better than being within five feet of anything with more than four legs.

_B: Raid works wonders, you know._

She groaned and let her head hang in between her legs. Her landlord was probably being reasonable and landlord-y, but considering the intenseness of her arachnophobia, Raid wasn’t going to cut it this time.

She could always call Finn or Poe. They always helped her out when she lived on campus in exchange for her fixing their heating system. Maybe even Rose, if she ever got a day off from her new job. But they were halfway across the city, and if she had to look at the spider nest for another minute, Rey would surely pass out.

_R: is there anyway you can get rid of it for me? i have serious arachnophobia. like, it’s bad._

The three dots appeared immediately.

_B: How old are you?_

_Apparently I’m immature_, she thought bitterly.

_R: none of ur concern. if it’s too difficult i’ll just call a friend_

_B: I’ll do it for a small fee. Give me five minutes. Don’t expect any other favors tho._

Rey sighed with relief. She didn’t dare move from her hideout spot between the IKEA boxes for those few minutes, but when she heard knocking, Rey sprang up, keeping both eyes on the nest while blindly fumbling for the doorknob. 

She threw open the door and any anxiety about the spider nest disappeared the moment she laid eyes on her landlord.

This was _not_ her landlord; he couldn’t have been. He was too young, too tall, too handsome, _too fucking hot_. He couldn’t have been much older than Rey. He radiated so much energy that was unfamiliar to Rey, but she drank it up too quickly for just meeting him. His eyes bared such innocence and intensity; so much intensity, in fact, Rey went still the moment they locked eyes.

She wet her suddenly dry lips. “Hi.”

“Uh, got a text about a spider problem?” Ben held up a plastic bag filled with spider-destroying contents. 

“Oh, uh, yeah, come right in.” She gestured into the apartment and closed the door behind him. 

He appeared ginormous next to the boxes stacked around the apartment. “I see you haven’t done much unpacking.”

“Literally just brought the last box up when I saw the spider nest,” Rey said, rocking back and forth on her heels.

“Did you carry everything up by yourself?” Ben peered into the content of a box at his eye level; all of her textbooks from undergrad she still needed to sell.

“Oh, no, my friends helped me last night a bit, but this morning, yes, I brought up the last of them. I made sure the boys bring the heavy ones, so I didn’t have to carry them this morning,” she laughed out, trying to calm her breathing as he continued his inspection of the apartment. 

While he did not laugh at that comment, Rey noticed the corners of his mouth turn into a smirk. “So, where’s is it?”

“It’s over there.” Ben followed her pointed finger to the corner where the nest resided.

“Oh, it’s not that bad-” Ben started chastising, but noticed Rey had retreated to the doorframe, shaking. “Just… start unpacking and I’ll take care of it for you.”

She quietly thanked him and set on putting her bed together. She collapsed the night before out of complete exhaustion and sufficed for a decorative pillow and a thick blanket for a bed. Tonight, however, she was going to enjoy her (probably overpriced) memory foam mattress pad and the thousands of pillows she bought on sale at Target. 

Rey was struggling to decipher the directions when she heard a box fall over and Ben curse in the living room. She threw her screwdriver down and ran in to find Ben lying in a pile of t-shirts. He still had the Raid in his hand when he stared at the stack of sorority shirts that landed on his chest. He picked up one and inspected it. “Really?”

Rey rolled her eyes. “Yes, I was in a sorority, big deal.”

“No I didn’t mean it like that. I mean… I was in Greek life too. At NYU. And, I think they had this chapter-”

“Wait, you went NYU?” Rey asked, shock apparent in her tone.

“Yeah.” Rey thought she saw the corners of Ben’s mouth turn, but whatever smile was coming on had disappeared immediately. 

“Small world, huh?”

“I suppose so.” Ben sat up and pointed at the now empty corner. “All gone. I’ll be on my way.”

Rey sighed with relief and stood with him. “Thank you, so so much, I truly appreciate-"

“Remember, no more favors,” Ben reminded her.

She nodded. “Right, no favors.” Rey extended her hand. “Not the way I expected to meet my landlord, but it was a pleasure.” 

Finally, Ben gave her a small smile and shook her hand, his gigantic, warm hand enveloping her small, cold one. He lingered there for a second too long before exiting the apartment and finding his own. 

Later that night, while Rey unpacked one of the last boxes, she realized something.

He never charged her for removing the spider nest.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments and kudos on the first chapter! This fic is honestly so much fun. I hope to update more frequently, but college is tough yo :/

_Modest with my jewels but check the bank, finally got the money, say my thanks..._

The playlist _songs white people get turnt to_ was turned up as loud as Rey’s Alexa would let her as she danced around in just a t-shirt and her underwear.

Only three weeks into her job with the New York Times and she received a surprising promotion. No long was she a paid intern; she was now an assistant editor.   
Snoke, the chief editor for the smaller, back-page articles, had tried to hide Rey away from the chief editor to take advantage of her naiveness. Rey felt lucky to even be working for the NYT; however, the chief editor got a hold of her graduate thesis and felt she had more potential than organizing the overflowing filing cabinets. For years, Rey had struggled with overwhelming baby face and was always underestimated because of this. She was still young to be working for the NYT, just a few weeks shy of her twenty-fourth birthday, but the chief editor saw potential, Rey’s potential, and seized it before she was discouraged from the amount of times she had spilled coffee on herself in a sad attempt to deliver a cup to all seventeen (she counted) grumbly old men she called ‘coworkers’.

She heard a soft knock at the door. Rey gave the Doordash delivery guy her key code so she wouldn’t have to go outside. To celebrate she ordered an obscene amount of food from an Italian place two blocks over; she wasn’t planning on having any leftovers.

Wrapping a blanket around her waist, Rey opened the door to find Ben Solo instead an inch from the doorframe.

After he helped her out with her bug issue, she had barely seen Ben since; she had sent him a few noise complaints, but that was about it. Snoke had her working doubles almost every day and Rey preferred to go straight to bed than wander around the building looking for her hot landlord.

Her dreams preferred the latter, anyway.

She let out a squeak and made sure her blanket covered everything that was exposed and choked out a terrified, “Hello”.

He didn’t say anything, but his gaze moved to the Alexa on the island. “I got a noise complaint.”

“From who?

“None of your business. Just, turn it down-”

“And since when did you come in person for noise complaints? I sent you three of them when the couple next door wouldn’t stop banging at three in the morning, and did they stop? No!” Rey was getting very hangry very quickly. While Ben was a nice sight for sore eyes, it wasn’t the meal she was craving at this point in time. “Oh, I bet they were the ones who complained-”

“Rey-”

“-seriously, I think I deserve to-”

“I have your food.”

Rey shut her mouth at that. “Excuse me?”

“I ran into the delivery guy on the way here. Yelled at him for trespassing, he said your name, I replied saying I was your friend and he just gave it to me. Probably should be fired.” Ben smirked, holding the bag of food behind his back.

“There wasn’t a complaint about my music, was there?” she asked, hopeful that he did this as an excuse to see her.

“Oh, no, there is. It’s me. Seriously, you listen to that shit?”

“Okay, look-”

“Like seriously? So she got that booty poppin' like it's bubblegum. You like this shit? Ever heard of actual music, with real instruments? Hell, I can hear it in my room over my music.”

Rey’s eyebrows furrowed together. “I thought you lived on the top floor.”

“Nope.” Ben backed out of the doorframe and pointed at the door at the end of the hallway. “_That_ is my apartment.”

“Oh.” She went for the bag in his hand with both hands while Ben was distracted. She peeked inside to make sure she got everything and felt a cold breeze drift past her bare legs.

_Fuck_. The blanket was pooled around her feet.

The damage was already done. Ben had his eyes locked on Rey’s long legs and the lacy underwear around her hips. “Uh, Rey-”

Rey kicked the door closed with her foot and sank to the floor, clutching her food.

No one had ever seen her so exposed, so bare, since she had that uneventful one night stand almost two years ago. Not even Rose had seen her; Rey carried decency high in her list of priorities, and only did she feel comfortable stripping down when she was alone. And now her stupid hot landlord had seen more of her than her roommate in college.

She let herself wallow for a few seconds before pouring herself a glass of water and settling on the couch with her two plates of pasta. All the excitement Rey had about eating was snatched away as she mulled over what happened a few moments ago.

Almost on cue, her phone _dinged!_ with a text from the man himself.__

_ _ _B: I’m sorry for that. I don’t think your music sucks and you have nice legs._ _ _

_ _Rey choked on her water and almost soaked the stack of newspapers teetering close to the edge of the coffee table. Her phone _dinged!_ again._ _

_ _ _B: TASTE I MEANT TASTE._ _ _

_ _She couldn't decide whether to be offended or flattered._ _

_ _ _R: sorry i shut the door in ur face. but pls, dont touch my doordash again. thats just weird_ _ _

_ _He replied almost immediately._ _

_ _ _B: Look, what I did was stupid. But so was the doordash dude. I just wanted to say hi to be honest... you honestly seem cool and I don’t talk to anyone that much._ _ _

_ _A pang of sadness and empathy went through Rey’s chest._ _

_ _R: me too, tbh..._ _

_ _After moving off campus, Rose started working the night shift, so she barely talked to her anymore. Poe and Finn were too invested in each other to even think about taking the extra time to hop on the L line to visit Rey. She understood it, though; after years of buildup, everyone breathed sighs of relief when they finally announced their relationship. Rey wanted to give them time and space to be together, but damn, was she lonely._ _

_ _The three dots kept appearing and disappearing before eventually they went away completely. Rey surveyed the buffet laid before her and took a minute to think._ _

_ _ _R: if i put pants on wanna hang? i ordered too much food anyway_ _ _

_ __B: You got one minute_._ _

_ _ _R: challenge accepted._ _ _

_ _The closest pair of pants were her pink sleep shorts with donuts on it, but fashion wasn’t exactly the priority, so she slipped them on. Rey barely had the shorts past her thighs when the incessant knocking began._ _

_ _Ben had also changed from his business casual to grey sweatpants and a black shirt. Hair moussed up from him running his fingers through it and his cozy feel, Rey almost forgot about the food in favor of something else._ _

_ _He jiggled the bottle of wine his hand. “Red pairs well with Italian.”_ _

_ _“Sounds awesome.”_ _

_ _She invited him in and grabbed two wine glasses she snatched from a wedding out of the cabinet._ _

_ _“Netflix?” he asked, fiddling with the remote._ _

_ _“Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Showtime... I got it allllllll,” she said, winking unintentionally. Thankfully, Ben was fixated on the television._ _

_ _“Wow, rich, huh?”_ _

_ _“Oh, no, shared accounts.”_ _

_ _“I can tell,” Ben whispered, flipping through the ten different users on Netflix. “Ever seen _The Princess Bride_?”_ _

_ _“The princess what?”_ _

_ _“Okay, get on the couch, I cannot believe your parents never showed you this.” He pointed at the seat next to him and didn’t move his finger until she plopped down next to him._ _

_ _“What’s it about?”_ _

_ _“Just watch it.”_ _

_ _************************************_ _

_ _"Why... why does he keep saying inconceivable? It makes NO sense!”_ _

_ _Rey was tipsy, pleasantly, she was sure of that. Ben, on the other hand, was unfazed by half a bottle of wine. Rey cursed his largeness under her breath._ _

_ _“He doesn’t think that word means what he thinks it means,” Ben says, and immediately after, Indigo repeats those same words._ _

_ _“Buuuuuuuut, he should know by this point.” She giggled and ate the last breadstick._ _

_ _“Hey! I thought we were sharing that!” Ben proclaimed, and while his tone was angry, a chuckle escaped at the end._ _

_ _“You snooze, you lose.”_ _

_ _Ben didn’t mind losing the breadstick in the end._ _

_ _************************************_ _

_ _“What did you think?”_ _

_ _Rey gave two thumbs up, and then tried to make another set of thumbs up with her toes. She failed miserably and the top half of her slid onto the floor. “I loooooooved it.”_ _

_ _“That’s good.” Ben looked at his watch. “I should get going, you probably have work tomorrow-”_ _

_ _“Nahhhhh, stay! I wanna watch another movie.” She looked at him from her upside down angle and gave him a goofy smile. “Pleaseeeeee? I haven’t had this much human interaction with someone my age for months, I’m dyinggggg.”_ _

_ _That was enough to convince him. “Alright. How about… _The Goonies_?”_ _

_ _“Nope, nope, nopety nope.”_ _

_ _“Turn yourself around, then!”_ _

_ _Rey listened and wrapped herself in the same blanket from the evenings earlier incident. “Is this one about a princess too?”_ _

_ _“Absolutely not.”_ _

_ _************************************_ _

_ _Rey woke up with a mouthful of carpet and cocooned in her blanket. She looked around and found her phone. _3:29 A.M._ She had a few texts from Rose, a friend request on Facebook, and a text from Ben._ _

_ _ _B: I had fun tonight. Thanks for inviting me over. Let’s do it again, my place this time. Maybe chill out with the wine though ;). Let me know when you resurrect._ _ _

_ _She sat up and felt surprisingly fine. Rey and red wine never were a great combination, but over pasta it was perfect. She glanced at the kitchen, preparing to see the mess they left earlier. The wine glasses were next to the plates on the island and were sparkling clean._ _

_ _ _R: you didnt have to wash my dishes. thank you_ _ _

_ _His response was immediate._ _

_ __B: Just showing my thanks. This night means the world to me, seriously. Most human interaction I've had in months XD._  
Rey felt warmth creep through her cheeks._ _

_ _ _B: You busy tomorrow night?_ _ _

_ _ _R: 7 sharp, my turn to pick :D_ _ _

_ _Rey leaned back against the couch and wrapped the blanket around her head._ _

_ _ _Oh god, I’m falling for my fucking landlord._ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why does Ben text like an email? Cause it makes sense. Also he would totally use smiley faces over emojis, do NOT fight me on this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! Sorority recruitment was hecka busy, but this chapter is extra long to make up for it!

“Look, I can’t justify keeping you in this position. I just can’t.”

This was the Monday usual. Palpatine reviewed the schedules and made the cuts and hires necessary to bring balance to the work force. Ben severely disliked having to be the middle ground between the CEO and those just trying to make a living. Seeing his coworkers be crushed by those two cursed words, _laid off_, killed him. His job was to be unbiased, to eventually become the CEO so he could order some other naive thirty-year-old around like a glorified intern. 

“But, Mr. Solo-”

“I’m so sorry.” Genuine sorrow laced his voice. Ben winced as his ex-coworker slammed the door behind him. He picked up the phone and dialed for his assistant.

“Send in Ms. Russo.”

“Right away, sir.”

He looked at the resume on his desk to gauge the new hire. While she received a degree in accounting from an acclaimed university, she had a daughter; Palpatine wouldn’t like that. This job was do or die; no distractions, no life, nothing. Even an entry position demanded so much. But many saw the pay rate and the limited qualifications and thought it wasn’t much of a sacrifice. Ben didn’t think much of it either when he was promoted at the First Order Firm. 

But now, he had a distraction. And, holy hell, was it a big one. 

Rey was all that occupied Ben’s thoughts nowadays. Especially with him being single now, his mind kept replaying the first night they hung out together in his head. Her innocence and spunk drove him nearly insane; just the thought of running his hands up and down her body and kissing until their lips were sore threatened to make him burst like a teenage boy.

Ben didn’t even hear Ms. Russo come in as she extended her hand towards him. “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Solo.”

“Please, Ben. Take a seat.” Ben shifted in his seat to make room for his growing hardness and focused his attention on the new hire to distract himself.

_Hire, fire, hire, fire._

At least there was consistency. 

************************************

“You know what I’ve realized?”

Rey and Ben had fallen into a pattern of movie nights two to three times a week depending on their schedules. There was one night where he didn’t leave until the early hours of morning after Rey revealed she had never seen a single _Galaxy Battles_ movie. They took turns on who ordered the food and picked the movies, and, recently, Rey started showing off her brilliant cooking skills to Ben’s surprise. She had started to develop something for Ben; what it was exactly, God knows. But she didn’t want these nights to end any time soon, and Rey could sense that Ben felt it, too.

“What’s that?” Ben asked, tucking a fist under his chin to give her his undivided attention.

Rey paused Netflix and shifted to face Ben. “We, like, know _nothing_ about each other. Sorry to get, uh, existential or whatever, but we’ve been hanging out a lot lately, and I still have no clue what you do for living, or why you’re a landlord at the age of…” She hesitated.

“28?” Ben offered up.

“See?! This is exactly what I mean! Tell me how I know what your favorite planet is in _Galaxy Battles_ and that you have excellent taste in wine, but I don’t have any idea what you do as a career. So…” She scooted closer to him on the couch and framed his face with her fingers. “…who are you, Ben Solo?”

“I can say the same for you, Rey Cissa,” he playfully hissed, knocking Rey back onto her butt from her perched stance. 

“Maybe we should establish what we _do_ know,” she suggested, downing the rest of her wine. She developed a tolerance, as well as a curiosity for how Ben kept buying this expensive but absolutely decadent drink.

“Well, your name is Rey… got that. You studied journalism at NYU; you were a sorority chick,” Ben said in a very girlish voice, giving Rey a very fake smile. She didn’t return it and was rewarded with a chuckle from Ben. “Uh, and you are an amazing cook.”

“Oh, stop-“

“No, seriously! Don’t put yourself down about that. Ever. My stomach _screams_ for your s’mores bake at night.” Ben attempted to wink at her but ended up blinking instead. 

“I’m pretty much an open book; ask me anything.”

“Where does this accent come from?”

“Jakku.” Simple, one-worded questions she could handle. 

“Oh really? I didn’t realize their accent bared such a resemblance to English ones. Um, tell me about your family.”

Okay, this was going to take more than one word. She pursed her lips, figuring out a cohesive timeline to tell Ben.

“Y-you don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Ben stammered out. 

“No, no, I want to. Just… I’m an orphan.” She expected Ben to gasp or interrupt her, as most people bombarded her with ridiculous questions, but he just sat there, his gaze unwavering. She never felt comfortable to reveal to anyone that she was an orphan; the usual excuse was that her and her parents had a falling out and she was independent. Cissa was name the third orphanage gave her because her birth certificate was destroyed, along with any evidence she existed in the first place. The reason for this erasure, she had no idea. 

“It’s not an exciting story. I was an accident; my mom didn’t want me in the first place. Abandoned at age six with nothing but a sack of clothes and toys and a coffee can filled with ones. Jumped around to…” She counted on her fingers. “Nine, orphanages? I was a ‘problem’ ‘cause I kept taking stuff apart, like toasters and coffee pots. Always had knack for mechanics, foster mom seven said I was brilliant and-.”

“Then why are you working for the New York Times?” Ben interrupted.

Not much rendered Rey speechless, but this did. “I… what do you mean?”

“If you’re so good at mechanics and electronics, why did you get a degree in journalism and writing? My toaster was put back together in less than ten minutes after what happened last week because of you.” Ben accidentally got a bagel stuck in the toaster and, after carefully pulling the charred lump out, Rey fixed the burners so nothing would suffer that fate again. “You’re not fooling me Rey; I can tell you hate working for them with a burning passion.”

That much she would admit. Snoke was a walk in the fucking park compared to how much of a hard ass Hux was. Not did he keep her overtime with no pay; she accidently swiped right on him on Tinder and no amount of deterring would get him to stop. He pulled the _I’m your boss we’re just friends_ card and let Rey know the consequences of deleting him. Hux then found her Facebook and Instagram and just let the messages come in, willing to do anything to keep her job.

“Hux was my roommate freshman year,” Ben admitted.

“You’re joking!”

“I wish. He wanted to go to bed at 8:30 sharp every night and slept with the TV on.” Ben rolled his eyes at the memory. “I brought a girl back one time and he threw such a hissy fit he broke the Keurig. I broke his alarm clock; never complained when I brought anyone over again. But seriously, Rey.” He scooted closer and took her hand and squeezed. “Please. This job isn’t for you. Screw the eighty thousand a year; if you don’t like it, that money means nothing.” He hesitated, like he wanted to say more, but just leaned away instead. “I’ll get off of my soapbox.”

While she appreciated the surprise Ted Talk, for some reason Rey felt a tinge of jealously at the phrase _bringing a girl home_. She turned the jealousy into curiosity quickly, so he didn’t see the way her eyes scrunched together. “So, mister Solo-“

“Ben,” he said involuntarily, having done the same greeting so many times in the past.

“Ben,” Rey repeated. “Tell me about this special someone I’ve been seeing in the hallway.” She saw her last about a month ago; tall, blonde, pencil skirt, and all curves. Perfect for Ben; Rey had no competition.

“Oh, Baz? Uh, yeah, we just broke up-“

Rey gasped. “Oh god I’m so sorry I didn’t mean-“

“Nah, you’re fine. Just, an entire year down the drain because _we have different goals_,” Ben said sarcastically, adding air quotes to the last few words. “It’s whatever at some point.” He went silent, and Rey could feel his sadness building, him sink back into the couch and grab the pillow even harder. 

This time, Rey grabbed his hand. “Fuck her. You deserve someone who’s gonna love you fully and forever. I’ll be your wing girl.” She gripped his hand even tighter. “I’ll help you.”

Offering this to Ben meant sacrificing whatever this feeling was that she felt for him, but with who he dated previously, Rey was not up to his standards whatsoever. She could never compete; standing at only five foot seven and having the figure of a fifteen-year-old girl, she was nothing to him. But finding someone who was, she could handle.

“I, I don’t think-“

“Look, even if it’s a one-night stand, I got you. Seriously. It’s the least I can do to repay you for all the wine I’ve drank of yours.” The bottles she neglected to throw away were beginning to pile up.

Ben sighed. “I suppose-“

“Awesome! Let’s start tonight, I have to devise a plan, and figure out schedules…”

As Rey explained her plans at a thousand miles an hour, Ben sat back on the couch and just watched her. He was waiting to ask her out, but once she offered to find another girlfriend for him, Ben buried those feelings; it was obvious that she didn’t like him back. 

Rey woke him from his daze by yanking him off the couch. “Let’s go.”

“Where?”

“The bar in Midtown. C’mon!”

He rolled his eyes at her and threw his jacket on, taking a last look at _Galaxy Battles_ on the television. Part of him wanted to just grab Rey and forget about Baz and destroy her innocence on her tiny couch, but the way she was bouncing on her heels gave him the push to lock her door and walk with her to the bar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new challenger (kind of) appears for Rey >:) and wing-girl Rey was nOT in my original plan but here we are. Hope you're enjoying this slow burn hell as much as I am (jk I'm not I want them to FUCK but I'm pacing myself)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've returned! Life's been insane but I found time to write and wrote like a literal maniac. Enjoy the fluff that's about to ensue :)

Rey was happy for Ben; she truly was. After a few nights bar hopping and exploring the numerous clubs New York City had to offer, Ben gave up. Numerous mixed drinks and shitty beers later and he was yelling into his phone to his ex. Rey was able to slip away when she saw Baz making her way across the floor at the sixth club of the night, still intimidated by her. She wanted Ben’s happiness more than anything, and while she could numb the pain with the rest of their last bottle of wine, it still wasn’t enough.

It never would be.

************************************

It took about a month for Ben to realize he fucked up.

Big time.

In the few weeks after their breakup Baz had shifted her dynamic from the hardworking, kind woman he knew, to an absolute nightmare. Ben called her at that nightclub wanting nothing more than Rey; knowing he wasn’t deserving of her, he turned to Baz instead. She demanded his undivided attention, putting it as _he needed to work to get her back_, and as a result his and Rey’s movie nights ceased to exist. As he sat on the plush couch letting her give him the saddest head he’d had since college, he finally had enough.

“Fuck, just, get off me!” He pushed Baz’s head off his groin and let out a breath. “I can’t do this.” He put his pants back on and put some distance between himself and Baz.

Baz sat on the floor, confusion and anger apparent in her knit-together eyebrows. “Ben, what’s-”

He let out a groan and walked to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. Baz stared at Ben, eyes pleading with worry. He downed the last of the water and didn’t shy away from her gaze. “What?”

“It’s been a while, sorry that I’m _inexperienced_,” Baz snapped, wiping the drool from her mouth. 

“No, Baz, it’s not that.” He wanted nothing more than for her to get the hell out of his apartment. Ben struggled with being assertive, but now, finding sudden strength, he let it go. “You need to leave Baz.”

“But, you’re the one who-”

“Yeah, I was drunk and depressed, and you came anyway, knowing I wasn’t thinking straight; what does that say about you? You know, I shaped my future for you, you were my _everything_, and you threw it away like it was _nothing_! I’m…” Ben’s voice cracked and he attempted to remain composed, failing miserably when he grabbed the countertop for support. “I found someone else, and she... she’s _perfect_. I’m… I’m not even apologizing to you after all the shit you put me through. Just get the fuck out of here, please.”

He expected Baz to lash out or throw the closest object at him, but instead, she gathered her coat and shoes up. She reached the door and paused, turning to face him. “You wanna know something, Ben?”

“Actually, I don’t.” Ben shrugged and pointed to the door once more. Baz’s jaw dropped and she gave Ben a rude gesture as she slammed the door behind her.  
As soon as he heard the lock click, Ben went to the nearest mirror to wipe away any tears and fix his hair. It was late into the night and he knew Rey would be home from work. Time was of the essence; the sudden confidence boost surely wouldn’t last long.

Satisfied with his appearance, he checked the hallway to make sure Baz didn’t hang around and knocked on Rey’s door three times.

Nothing.

He knocked again, louder this time. He faintly heard the TV on and was about to call her when the door whipped open. 

“Ben! Oh, my goodness, it’s been foreverrrrr,” Rey slurred. A bottle of some dark liquid sloshed around in her left hand with her right being occupied with dragging Ben into the apartment. 

“I know Rey, uh, how much have-” 

Rey shushed him with her free hand and took another swig from what he now realized was a handle of whiskey. “You will _never_ believe what has happened s-since we last h-hung out.” 

He decided to entertain her for the time being and sat them both on the couch. “What would that be?”

She put the alcohol on the coffee table and threw her hands up into the air. “I got fired!” Rey sounded joyous and did a little dance when she made the announcement.

Ben was taken aback so badly he almost jumped up. “Wait, what?”

“Yup! I wouldn’t go on a date with Hux, s-s-so, he fired me instead!” She laughed and fell onto Ben’s shoulder. “He told the department I plagiarized, and they fucking _believed_ him!” 

His whole plan was thrown out the window at this point, but with Rey’s state, her safety was the only thing he cared about at the moment. Still speechless, Ben moved to swipe the whiskey from the table and get it away from Rey, but she noticed and grabbed it first. “Oh no, no, this is mine.”

_Two can play this game_. “But I thought you would share, it was _your_ turn to buy anyway.”

Rey thought about this, long and hard, before laughing and clutching the bottle to her chest. “I feel like you’re trying to s-steal this. It ain’t happening buddy.” She took off towards the bedroom but didn’t make it more than a few steps and stumbled to the ground, still holding an iron grip on the bottle.

“Rey, you have to be careful,” Ben chastised, sitting down next to her crumpled on the ground.

“Nahhhhh, what’s the point anyway? Life’s s-short, let me be reckless.” Rey’s expression changed and she reached for Ben, pushing a piece of hair out of his eyes. “Did you get hotter?”

Ben chuckled, expecting Rey to realize what she said immediately after. But she continued to push hair out of his eyes, hand making its way down to stroke his cheek.

“I could say the same about you,” he admitted.

“Pfft, nah. I’m a fucking mess. But seriously, did you?” Her hand dropped and the bottle rolled onto the floor. She had given up, finally. Ben slowly adjusted his position to move the bottle away from Rey when she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and brought his lips to hers. 

It was messy and rough and tasted like cheap whiskey, but Ben took it all in and pulled Rey closer. His lips curled into a smile as Rey parted her lips and dipped her tongue in. He could tell she was incredibly inexperienced, but the fact she made the first move told Ben there was going to be more of this, and more opportunities to teach her; more opportunities to tell her how beautiful she was and give her the love she deserved; more opportunities to be with Rey. It drove Ben drunk with ecstasy thinking about a possible future with her. 

_It’s the alcohol talking_, a voice snaked into his head whispered. He shoved it away as Rey ran a hand through his hair and gently pulled at his black curls. Ben literally _moaned_ at the sensation, and the only thing keeping him from fucking Rey right then and there was the fact she was insanely drunk.   
All too soon she pulled away. Rey’s pupils were blown wide open and she was breathing heavy. Her hands were gripped in his hair and the strap of her tank top was down her shoulder. Ben couldn’t tell if she was excited or mortified at what she had just done.

“Rey-”

Ben didn’t get a chance to ask Rey anything; her eyes went wide and she sprinted to the bathroom. Soon enough, he heard her retching everything she drank (and ate) into the toilet. He rolled his eyes as he listened to the abhorrent noises coming from the bathroom. 

While she was ridding the alcohol from her body, Ben took in the state of her apartment. Dishes piled up on the countertop from weeks of neglect, along with at least five empty bottles of wine and two of vodka. A quick glance into her bedroom showed that she didn’t seem to make it to her bed most nights and took to the couch instead. Ben got the impression the firing happened not as recently as he thought; he set to work righting what he could while Rey was occupied.

After Ben washed the dishes and threw out all the take-out boxes and empty bottles of alcohol, he checked up on Rey. She was leaning against the tub, head thrown back, skin paler than usual. She looked _rough_, and Ben still found himself staring at her. 

“How are ya feeling?”

Rey scoffed. “What do you think?”

“Like shit.”

She threw him a thumbs up. “Bingo.”

He sat next to her and offered her a scrunchie he found on her dresser. “For your hair.”

Rey took it with gratitude and threw her hair up in a bun. “Thanks.” 

The two of them sat there, Rey glancing back and forth between the toilet and Ben. He never took his eyes off Rey, watching for any sign she was going to throw up again. It wasn’t an awkward silence, but more of a mutual agreement. Rey’s job was to feel better; Ben’s was to make sure she was safe. It was easy enough, until Rey broke that agreement.

“I almost said yes.”

“What?”

“To Hux. To keep my job.” She swayed towards the toilet but caught herself and sat up straighter. “But I remembered what you said. About this job being bullshit.”

“Really?”

“Yup. But now that I have the _plagiarism_ on me, no one will hire me. It’s bullshit.” Rey looked Ben in the eyes now, all evidence of her being drunk gone. “But, I’m still glad I did. Even if…” She trailed off, hands fidgeting with the hem of her shorts.

“Even if?” Ben edged. 

She let out a breath and faced him once again. “Even if the guy I’m mad about is-” Rey’s eyes went wide and she turned to the toilet to start throwing up yet again. Ben averted his eyes and patted Rey’s back as her small body shook. He noticed she lost weight, most likely due to her not having a job for at least a week and spending her paycheck on alcohol. While Ben cut her a deal on the apartment, it was not cheap whatsoever, especially for someone straight out of graduate school who had thousands of dollars in loans to pay. 

Once Rey finished her second round of vomiting, she flushed the toilet and stood on wobbly legs to brush her teeth. “Ben, I-”

“I got you.” He put two hands on her waist, keeping her steady while she cleansed her face of vomit and snot. She did it at a snail’s pace, but Ben didn’t mind one bit. His hands enclosed her entire waist and he could feel her abs under his thin shirt. If he wasn’t occupied with taking care of her, he would pay more attention to the growing hardness tenting his pants.

Rey finished up and looked back at Ben in the mirror. The lines in her face were finally gone and she looked relaxed; exhausted was probably a better word. She gave Ben a small smile and turned around to face him. “Thank you.”

“No, it’s not-” 

“No, seriously.” She gripped the countertop behind her and trained her eyes on his face. “You… even though you have Baz again, even though we haven’t spoken in almost a month, you’re still Ben. Still here, for me. And… I’m so… grateful.” 

Her toothy grin made Ben’s heart soar and he tried to bring her closer, but her knees went weak once again.

“Bedtime?” he asked, scooping Rey up into his arms, walking them both carefully out of the cramped bathroom.

“Please,” she whispered into his ear, attempting to keep a grip on his shoulder but finding purchase in his hair instead.

He settled Rey in her bed and began to tuck her in when she grasped his hand. “Stay with me?”

Ben didn’t reply but grabbed a trash can from the corner of her bedroom and put it next to her. He sat on the edge of the bed and brought the comforter to her chest. “Of course. I’ll stay on the couch for-”

“No, Ben, I mean, in bed, with me.” Rey’s cheeks turned pink as she scooted towards the edge of the bed, making room for him.

“Rey, I don’t think-”

“Please? Be with me, Ben. I… need you.” 

Ben’s eyes went wide as he tried to decipher whether she was still drunk or not, but she was crystal clear in her desires. He hesitated for a moment, thinking through any and all options, but there was only one, and that was to get in bed next to Rey. He obliged, willing his cock to calm the fuck down as he pulled up the sheets and slid in next to her. They had plenty of room, but Rey didn’t shy away from cuddling up next to him, nudging her head under his arm and resting an arm across his chest. Ben adjusted himself until deemed comfortable, and asked Rey if she was okay.

“Just really sleepy.” She snuggled up to him and pressed her forehead against his cheek. Ben involuntarily kissed the top of her head and didn’t realize he did it until Rey pulled him even closer. Stroking her hair, he smiled to himself, thanking whatever heavenly being was above for this fate he’d been given, even if it was only temporary. 

“Thank you, Ben.” It was so faint he almost didn’t hear it.

“For what, Rey?” He never got an answer though; soon, Rey’s breathing evened and she was asleep. Ben sighed with relief knowing she was somewhat at peace for the moment and decided to take time to simply gaze at her.

Ben never noticed just how many freckles dotted her face, but he knew he would never be able to keep track of them. She had a scar on her arm, almost like two hands reaching for one another; Ben would have to ask about the story behind it. He took the scrunchie out of her hair as it wasn’t doing much to begin with and continued running his fingers through her dark hair. It was intoxicating; _she_ was intoxicating, so much so that Ben didn’t feel himself drift off to sleep, Rey’s grip around his waist strong and his hand still tangled in her hair.

_Finally, at peace_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sue me, it's been almost a month. But ya know, it's HERE. And I LOVE THIS CHAPTER SO MUCH AGH. Spoiler: the finally DO IT in the next chapter and I am... beyond ready.


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